The Ritual

The Ritual

It has in truth been years since we last met, yet sometimes when I cast my mind back to those days, it seems only minutes have passed when as children we played on those dirty streets and lightened the pockets of passer-bys. Although we have seldom crossed paths since your joining the keepers, I have often thought and asked after you. Though it with much unexpected pain that I seek an audience with you now.

Nov 14, 2000

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Author: Twisty

Contact info: [email protected]

Date of Release: Nov 14, 2000

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Prologue:

When - Several months before the first event of Thief 2.

Garret is confronted one morning by a messenger boy who has a letter

for him.

"Dear Garrett,

It has in truth been years since we last met, yet sometimes when I cast my mind

back to those days, it seems only minutes have passed when as children we played

on those dirty streets and lightened the pockets of passer-bys. Although we have

seldom crossed paths since your joining the keepers, I have often thought

and asked after you. Though it with much unexpected pain that I seek an audience

with you now.

As you may already know, I have been wed to Master Greaves, a successful trader

for some years now and have borne him a daughter, Merimee, who will turn eight

this year. So, as you can see, my life has indeed taken a more rewarding turn than

what I ever envisioned in my youth. That is, until recently.

When my mother became widowed all those years ago she found herself without

money enough to support me and sent me as a child to the city where I could work

in one of the many factories there. And yet poverty was not the only reason that I

was sent away it seems. Following the death of my Father, my mother turned to a

cult group there for support whose beliefs and identity were kept a closely

guarded secret. Heather Downs, having such a strong history of Hammer loyalists,

was no place to start joining other religions and yet in those dark times she felt

that she had nowhere else to turn.

As my mother found herself becoming further and further entangled in the

Druizalites ways (as they were known), they started demanding that I should be

inducted into their group. They claimed that a birthmark that I wore was a sign

of Baphomane, their god and that by sacrificing me to him was part of their

destiny.

Since then, I had heard nothing of my Mother until last week when travelling

to Heather Downs, I learnt that she died several years ago. It was during this

visit that my daughter Merimee vanished. She also bears the same birthmark as I.

I am beside myself to know what to do. The Sheriff there seems to have little time

for one such as myself. Even so I have a modest amount of wealth now, my low

social standing seems to work against me. I believe that your the only one who can

help me now.

I bid thee Garrett to travel those miles to my old home Heather Downs and seek

what information that you can find. According to Greaves, there is a historian

there known as Marius Saltimer, who claims that he knows something about the

Druizalites and that she will slain in one of their ceremonies tomorrow.

Please go with Abby the messenger boy to my house now, where we will discuss your

payment.

Yours faithfully,

- Marina"

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Further Background:

During the journey to Heather Downs, the coach gets stopped by

guards who start searching for weapons, as people have been disappearing in the area.

Garrett is forced to jettison all but only the most essential items. Perhaps the famous

combat expert, Luthor De Snel, who is said to reside in Heather Downs, will have a

weapon or two.

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Production Notes:

This FM represents my first effort with dromed. I have been working on it solely after

completing the official tutorial. Hence you can see a vast improvement from the beginning

of the level to the end.

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Objectives:

-Search Marius's office and obtain some information.

-find a way into the lost catacombs.

-The trip out here has cost you alot of money.

Steal at least 850/1200/1500 worth of loot.

-Don't let Merimee die.

-Don't kill any innocent bystanders.(Novice/Catpurse)

-Find the Hammer's sacred Seliquary. (Catpurse/Master)

-Don't kill anyone. (Master)

-When all your objectives have been completed, return

with Merimme to where you started.

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* Play Information *

Game: Thief: The Metal Age

Mission Title: The Ritual

File Name: Miss20.mis

Difficulty Settings: yes

Equipment Store: no

Map / Automap: yes / no

New Graphics: yes

New Sounds: yes

EAX Support: yes

Briefing: No

Difficulty Levels: Novice, Catpurse, Master

* Construction *

Base: From Scratch

Build Time: A Lot Longer than I care to talk about - 3 months

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* Loading Information *

DarkLoader ready. Filename: ritual.zip

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* Copyright *

Copyright (c) July, 2000 by Twisty

Permission is given to freely play and distribute this level, provided that it remains whole and intact.

This level was not made and is not supported by Looking Glass Studios (duh), nor Eidos Interactive.

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Thanks, Ndru (for some good ideas about AI follow) and Apache (for solving an objective conundrum) and anyone at the forum who helped me along the way. I would also like to thank - in no particular order - Viper6, MsLedd, Vaul, Drom_Editor, DKessler, Lancer and Mazur for their tireless beta-testing efforts!